The final photo in this year's countdown is Goðafoss waterfall in Iceland during our visit in March.
We had just one night of bright aurora and got to the waterfall in time to tick another one off my bucket list!
I hope everyone's enjoyed seeing my top moments from the year and has a great Christmas
One more from our recent trip to Finland for day 23.
A snowy walk up a fell near our cabin resulted in one of the most special sunsets we've ever seen. This far north the sunset seemed to last for ages, with the last rays of golden sun picking out the amazing beauty of the snow-covered surroundings.
Advent day 22 features the most beautiful waterfall in Iceland - Aldeyjarfoss.
Our visit in March was made all the more special by the journey there, with a long drive along a rough gravel road towards the untamed Icelandic interior, followed by a long hike through the beautiful snowy landscape.
Advent day 21... Back in June we had some of our best ever views of otters around the Isle of Mull.
After watching this one fishing along the shoreline I hid behind a rock, hoping he'd come ashore nearby. Luckily he did just that, then relaxed in the seaweed right in front of me. What a moment!
Day 20 of my Advent countdown features one of the most beautiful, peaceful and special places we've ever stayed, deep in the woods in Finnish Lapland.
After a chilly day out in the -20s it was pure bliss to return to our cosy cabin in the woods, light the wood burner and settle down in the warmth.
My photo for day 19 of Advent is another from our family day out at Peak Wildlife Park back in February.
Few animals know how to relax and soak up the sun like a meerkat, and with a little bit of added Photoshoppery this one looks even more chilled than normal!
Today's Advent photo is another animal that puts a smile on everyone's face - a common dolphin. We saw hundreds of these on a boat trip out of Tobermory back in June, and loads of them came really close to ride alongside the boat. These and the minke whales made it a fantastic trip to remember!
It's a look back to the very start of 2025 for today's Advent photo, with a cheeky red squirrel photographed during our new year trip to south-west Scotland. Love these little characters!
Day 16 of Advent takes us back to July and a fantastic six days immersed in all things aviation at the Royal International Air Tattoo. Here's the RAF Typhoon blasting overhead my pitch at Totterdown campsite. Bring the noise!
Advent day 15... Back in April we spent a brilliant morning watching dippers on a river in the Peak District. These are one of my favourite birds and are great to watch as they dive for food and bob on the rocks in the river.
We're back in Finland for today's Advent photo, at a truly magical location high in the hills above Levi. This is Santa's Cabin, as used in the film 'Christmas Story', lit up by the last sunlight of the day.
Advent day 13 and it's a very cute red panda bounding towards the camera at Peak Wildlife Park, where we had a brilliant day out for Mum's birthday penguin feeding experience!
I noticed the panda running this way a few times and luckily for me he did it again once I'd got in position with my camera.
Day 12 features a very vocal red deer stag.
During the rut stags will often pick up shrubbery to make their antlers more impressive to the females. This one went one step further and managed to attach a great bundle of plastic fencing to his antlers. He seemed to be quite proud of his new attire!
Day 11 of Advent takes us back to Finland last month, and a tranquil scene at a frozen lake near where we stayed. I spotted this composition on our first day when we walked down to the lake, and hoped it would capture the cold, still, serene beauty of Finnish Lapland.
Advent day 10... During our week in the Cairngorms back in February we had a fantastic day out at the Highland Wildlife Park. After hiding all day, this absolutely beautiful lynx had a wander around just before sundown and closing time. Luckily I was in position to capture him on the prowl...
Day 9 of Advent features an aerial shot of the service area for this year's Nicky Grist Stages rally in Builth Wells, on a day that was as memorable for being so blooming hot as it was for being a super day seeing loads of rally cars blasting around the beautiful Welsh countryside.
Advent day 8 takes us to the Isle of Lunga, off the western coast of the Isle of Mull. A roly-poly boat ride across a very choppy sea was rewarded with the amazing sight, sound and smell of thousands of sea-birds, including these characterful puffins who were very obliging in posing for a photo!
Something a little different for Advent day 7...
Back in March we in the UK were lucky enough to experience a partial solar eclipse, which for once coincided with a cloud-free sky!
I took this from my garden, with the moon covering around 45% of the sun.
Definitely not something you see every day!
A hunting barn owl for day 6 of Advent. This was a new location for me down where I spent a fantastic afternoon in March surrounded by kestrels, red kites, short eared owls and barn owls. We've since returned once and seen no owls at all but I'm still hoping for more owl action in the new year!
Advent day 5 features the first of a few photos from our recent trip to Finland.
This rare patch of unfrozen water was a hotspot for wildlife, with whooper swans and dippers jostling for territory as the arctic sunrise cast the most amazing pink glow that I've ever seen across the snow-laden trees.
Advent day 4 features an aerial view of a freezing cold Loch Garten in the Scottish Cairngorms. In February we spent a couple of nights in this special place with wonderful views, endless trees and beautiful birds everywhere.
Day 3 of Advent takes us to the Mawddach Estuary in Wales.
In the spring we stumbled on a quiet little place here to camp in the van and made quite a few return trips as we enjoyed the peace and quiet and the beautiful views up and down the estuary. No doubt we'll be returning next year for more!
Advent day 2 takes a look back to the Cairngorms in February. We spent a fantastic day in the spectacularly beautiful Findhorn valley, home to a good population of mountain hares. There was very little snow around for the time of year so the hares' winter camouflage wasn't really doing its job!
A long exposure of Godafoss Waterfall taken during blue hour, not long after sunset, with the rocky snow-covered shoreline and abstract movement in the river leading to the spectacle of the waterfall itself.
December the 1st can mean only one thing... time to kick off this year's photo-a-day for Advent!
Each day I'll be picking one of my favourite photos or moments from the past year.
First up is a long exposure during blue hour at the incredible Goðafoss Waterfall in northern Iceland in February.
Somehow this was 20 years ago today!
This ETPS 'raspberry ripple' Jaguar still rates as one of my all time highlight moments of photographing aircraft at low level.
#lowflying #machloop #avgeek #etps
Dipper action from the River Wye in the Peak District last weekend.
Love these little characters!
Not my finest otter photos but what a thrill to see these two hunting in the River Lune yesterday morning. My first ever sighing of non-coastal otters!
Thanks!
The ever-changing winter light of Goðafoss Waterfall, from the golden early-morning light picking out the amazing ice formations to the beautiful blue-hour just before darkness.
One of my favourite places in the world!
#Iceland #Godafoss #waterfall #photography
Love this! It's on my list for when we eventually make it to the Westfjords. 👍
